My Google reviews play a significant role in boosting your ROI. In this digital world, when people are trying something new, the first thing they do is read Google reviews to get to know what other people think about your business. Now imagine if they came across any bad reviews on your Google My Business Profile. 

Of course, it will leave a negative impression on your potential customer, and he might drop the idea of buying any product or service from you. This is why it becomes important to consider how to remove bad reviews from Google My Business. 

In this guide, we will learn why Google reviews matter and how to remove a negative review from Google My Business and boost your business’s online reputation. 

Do Google Reviews Matter for Your Business? 

Yes, of course, Google reviews are significant. It is a customer’s opinion that is posted publicly on your Google My Business page. Since it is visible to everyone who visits your business, it is important to make sure they are positive and not bad. It is more like a validation from the other consumer, which helps the next consumer to make the decision. 

So every business should strategize on how they could manage their online reputation. It is not that you should only have a good review on your profile, as most consumers believe they are either fake or bought. So, it should be mixed. You can have a negative Google review, and you can still manage it in such a way that it eventually wins your customer’s trust instead of deleting them from your profile. 

How Important are Google Reviews? 

Google reviews are a token of credibility or social proof of your business that you are dealing in quality products and services. With one good and positive review, you can increase your customer pool without spending a penny. When customers read Google reviews that are positive about your products or services, they are more likely to make a purchase. 

In short, the more positive reviews on your Google My Business, the higher your brand’s click-through rate. 

Google reviews are also important for local SEO. It greatly impacts the Google local search. The Google reviews signalize the Google search algorithms, which facilitate your business being found on Google searches easily and automatically without wasting time on conventional SEO practices like keyword research. 

In addition to this, it also assists businesses in getting an insight into what customers think about their service, how much they are satisfied, and what things need improving. 

What Impact Does a Negative Review on GMB Have on Your Business? 

A negative review on your business profile can impact negatively on how your business is being perceived publicly or by your consumers. When your customer gets across two or three repetitive negative remarks about your product or service, it deters their decision to choose your business for this particular service. This could give a competitive advantage to your competitor. 

This is especially crucial for small and local businesses, where reputation plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining customers. Negative reviews can lead to a decrease in foot traffic and a drop in sales as consumers often trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Moreover, negative reviews also impact your Google search ranking. It reduces your visibility, thus hindering your growth of new customer acquisition. 

How to Remove my Google Reviews If They’re Bad? 

Removing a bad review from your business profile could be tough because Google does not allow any business to delete its negative reviews. Here are the steps on how to remove bad reviews from Google My Business: 

1. Firstly, start by logging in to your Google My Business account. 
2. Then, after logging in, move to the section of reviews. Evaluate the sense of the review to shortlist which reviews need to be removed or reported. Check if that review is violating Google guidelines and is either off-topic, contains inappropriate content, or is spammy. 
3. Identify the bad review you want to remove. 
4. Click on the three-dot menu next to the review and select ‘Flag as inappropriate’ or contact Google Reviews Support. This action alerts Google to evaluate the review for potential removal.
5. Then, based on the violation criteria provided, you have to fill in the appropriate reason why you believe this review should be deleted or removed from your business profile. 
6. After reviewing the reasons provided and considering them valid, the mentioned Google review will be deleted. 
7. It’s better to keep a follow-up if you haven’t received any confirmation, or you can still read the Google review there on your profile. For this, you can contact Google Reviews support. 

Can I turn off Google Reviews for my Business? 

No, google does not provide you the ability to turn off the customer reviews by any means. Because it wants to give people searching for services or goods clear and helpful information, Google does not offer a way to eliminate the review function.

Actively responding to reviews is the best way to manage them. In addition to demonstrating your company’s dedication to client happiness, properly responding to both good and negative reviews will assist in minimizing any possible harm from bad comments. You can submit reviews to Google for potential removal if you come across any that break Google’s policy.

Can You Delete a Google review?

No, as a business you do not have the liberty to delete the Google review. However, you can flag it as inappropriate if it violates the guidelines on how to write a Google review by any means. 

Do Google Reviews Expire? 

Google reviews don’t go away. Unless the reviewer removes it or Google flags and removes it for breaching their review standards, a review that has been put on Google My Business stays public. 

This implies that over time, both favorable and unfavorable evaluations may continue to affect how prospective clients regard your company.

Are Google Reviews Traceable? 

Yes, it is possible to identify the Google account that wrote a review and follow it. A reviewer’s Google account is linked to the review they post on Google My Business. This enables Google to monitor and link reviews to particular people. 

To verify the review’s legitimacy and provide company owners with a better understanding of their clientele, Google may also gather more data on the reviewer, including their location and past behavior. However, this data is usually utilized for analytics and verification reasons and is not available to the general public.

How to Identify and Report Fake Google Reviews? 

Sometimes your competitor buys a fake Google review to harm your unblemished reputation, and this could adversely affect small businesses or startups that have just entered the market but pose a great threat to the already existing brands. To make sure no one harms your online reputation, it is important to first identify such reviews and then report them accordingly. Here is how: 

1. Examine the aforementioned review thoroughly. Keep an eye out for indications, such as ambiguous remarks, excessively favorable or unfavorable wording, or generalized language that may be used for any type of business.
2. Then if you think it is inappropriate, just like you removed the bad review, you have to flag it as inappropriate, stating to Google that it seems fake.
3. Provide the evidence on why you think it’s fake and then leave the rest to Google. 

How to Respond to a Bad Review Example? 

Let’s suppose you run a local restaurant business, and this is what you get as a review on your Google My Business: Terrible service! The staff was rude and unprofessional. I will never return to this place.

Review: “I just had the worst experience with food so far. I found your staff too rude and so unprofessional. Even the food served tasted bland and not fresh. Bad! I recommend not wasting a penny of your pocket!” 

Response: We are sorry to hear about the inconvenience you had to bear because of our staff. Providing excellent service is our top priority, and we apologize for falling short of your expectations. Please don’t hesitate to share how we can improve this; your suggestion would be of great help. Please connect to our customer services and they will come  up with a compensation for that.” 

This is how you can tackle the negative reviews on your profile and not hide Google reviews. Plus, this way of handling the bad reviews keeps you in the feedback loop, thus keeping a door open for improvement.

Tips to Boost Google Reviews 

1. Ask the customer professionally and politely to leave you feedback on your page so that it could help others see what other people think of you. 
2. Provide clients with direct links or information on how to submit feedback on Google to make it easier for them to give reviews.
3. You can add a small discount or a freebie with the offer of leaving a review, as it encourages the customer to add a review. 
4. Do not forget to respond to the reviews. It makes the customer feel valued. 
5. Your reviews should be displayed and made visible on your social media profiles, Google profile, website, and in-store to build trust. 
6. Never compromise on your quality services and products because the happier and more satisfied the customer, the more likely it is that he will leave you with a positive response. 

Conclusion 

Keeping an excellent internet reputation requires monitoring and responding to negative reviews on Google My Business. Negative reviews cannot be removed outright, but their effects can be lessened by being proactive and highlighting unsuitable remarks, replying professionally, and offering first-rate customer care.

Businesses may increase their online visibility, foster customer loyalty, and gain greater trust by proactively responding to consumer comments and putting customer pleasure first.

At Rank Locale, we specialize in reputation management to help businesses improve their online presence. By actively managing customer feedback, you can increase visibility, foster customer loyalty, and gain greater trust.

Don’t let negative reviews harm your business. Let Rank Locale handle your reputation while you focus on growth! Contact us today to strengthen your brand’s online image.